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THE LION TAMER 




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TONY TOMPKINS 


THE LION TAMER 

BY 

HARRIETT SCOTT BARBER 

WITH REMARQUE ILLUSTRATIONS BY 

CLYDE J. NEWMAN 

“ WHOM THE GODS LOVE HIE YOUNG*' 



CHICAGO 

THE REILLY & BRITTON CO. 

PUBLISHERS 


HT, 190a 
BRITTON 


















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or CONGRESS 

Two CorMes Received 

AUG 2 1906 



TONY 
TOMPKINS 
THE LION 
TAMER 

HEN Anthony 
Tompkins dis- 
carded dresses 
and people had an opportunity 
to view his contour to ad- 
vantage, it was universally 
conceded that his head was 
too big for his slender body 
and his tiny legs. 

The Tompkins family had 
7 



TONY TOMPKINS 


a wholesome dread of prodi- 
gies. Therefore, that it might 
not be said of Anthony Tomp- 
kins that he read Greek at four 
years of age, he was early sent 
away to a nook of the world 
where Greek had not yet pen- 
etrated, but where the waves 
sometimes whispered and oft'- 
times roared a language of 
their own. He soon learned 
to laugh at their queer pranks, 

and found it possible to make 
8 


THE LION TAMER 


wonderful things in the sand. 
But best of all, he found a 
mud-hole quite out of reach of 
the tide. When the latter came, 
in a domineering way, and 
drove him from the beach, he 
willingly betook himself to the 
woods, where, fascinating in 
the slipperiness of its contents, 
was the mud-hole, never too 
wet nor too dry, but always 
cool and slimy, and a delight 
to his little toes. 






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TONY TOMPKINS 


It was after his first visit 
to the mud-hole, that he enjoy- 
ed his first satisfactory bath. 
Hitherto, the water had always 
looked as clean after this event 
as before, but on that long-to- 
be-remembered day, when he 
emerged from the bath, the 
water was black, the tub was 
black, and Anthony Tompkins 
then and there conceived a 
new ambition in life. The 

nurse first protested, but at 
JO 


THE LION TAMER 


last yielded, because the Tomp- 
kins family so decreed. Grad- 
ually his knees became hope- 
lessly grimy. As the summer 
progressed, he acquired upon 
his left foot a much cherished 
scar. Of course, he cried when 
the doctor removed the glass, 
but he never regretted stepping 
on the broken bottle, because 
that scar was the envy of all 
the other little boys. 

As one acquires, so must 
n 























TONY TOMPKINS 

one lose; thus Anthony 
Tompkins lost the dignity of 
his name and became ‘‘Tony 
Tompkins" and “a fine kid," 
as somebody expressed it. 

Two seasons of such whole- 
some enjoyment so developed 
his muscles that the Tompkins 
family agreed that Tony, the 
once dreaded prodigy, might re- 
turn to his own, to be assisted 
in the dissipation of his soul- 
consuming desire to become a 

J2 


THE LION TAMER 


prize-fighter. The beach had 
ceased to be of interest to him 
because he could ‘‘lick'' all the 
boys of his size, and for rea- 
sons well known to himself, he 
wouldn't hit a '' bigger” boy 
any more than he would a 
‘Mittler” one. So it was that 
he greeted the news of his de- 
parture with the wildest enthu- 
siasm. He did not know that 
some one had once wept for 

other worlds to conquer, but 
13 












TONY TOMPKINS 


the spirit of the deprivation 
was strong upon him, when 
the news set him dancing with 
delight. 

When the Tompkins family 
decided to emancipate them- 
selves from a tyrannical land- 
lord and build a house of their 
own, the youngest member of 
the family was not consulted. 
So Tony's home coming was 
full of surprises. From the 
moment he stepped off the 

J4 


THE LION TAMER 


train and into a diminutive 
cart, drawn by a pony more 
diminutive, until every nook of 
his new domain was explored, 
it was like a fairy tale, and 
best of all, he was the prince. 

It was the wall paper in 
the nursery that served as a 
magic wand and transformed 
Tony Tompkins, alias “Prize- 
fighter," alias, “Prince," into 
“Tony Tompkins, The Lion 

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TONY TOMPKINS 


When the sunshine came 
through the wide windows to 
kiss the somethings on the 
wall, those somethings were Just 
plain conventional fleur-de-lis, 
deeply shaded at the middle and 
crowned with a still more con- 
ventional decoration that curled 
in and out in a mysterious 
fashion. But when twilight 
came — behold the transforma- 
tion: — the fleur-de-lis became 

lions' heads, the deeply shaded 
16 


THE LION TAMER 


centers, angry mouths, and the 
curling top decorations, bushy 
manes. 

At first it did not seem pos- 
sible to Tony Tompkins that 
others did not realize how 
brave he was to sleep in a den 
of lions, but then others seemed 
so utterly blind as not to 
understand at all. Hence, he 
silently bore the honor of be- 
ing The Greatest Lion Tamer 
on Earth, but had the Tomp- 

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TONY TOMPKINS 


kins family found time to no- 
tice, they would have discov- 
ered that he carried his head a 
little higher than usual and 
that his was a world of his 
own. 

Of course it was comfort- 
ing to enter the nursery ar- 
rayed in a red flannel shirt and 
carrying a tiny whip. Proudly 
he would advance to the cen- 
ter of the room and bow to 

the imaginary crowd, but he 
(8 


THE LION TAMER 


disdained applause from said 
crowd until his work was ended 
and he bowed himself out, 
quite as red as his shirt, but 
radiant with success. Once 
more he had escaped with his 
life. 

But, after all, there was lit- 
tle pleasure in being The Great- 
est Lion Tamer on Earth, as 
no one knew anything about 
it, and as Tony Tompkins sat 

down by the dog-house one 
J9 























TONY TOMPKINS 


bright morning the sun failed 
to warm his heart toward the 
cold and unappreciative world. 
He was considering the advis- 
ability of letting the lions eat 
him. Then, he thought, per- 
haps they would understand. 
A most dramatic situation was 
forming itself in his mind when 
a sound came to him from the 
other side of the dog-house. 

** Darn it," said a tiny voice, 
in an undertone. 


20 


THE LION TAMER 


Tony Tompkins stood on 
two boxes and peeped over the 
dog-house at the owner of the 
voice. There sat a little red- 
headed boy, trying to train a 
Guinea pig. Every one knows, 
and, of course, so did Tony 
Tompkins, that a Guinea pig 
is the most senseless pet in the 
world, and soon his disgust be- 
came audible. 

‘‘Nothing but a Guinea 
pig,’’ he said, impulsively, “Gee! 









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you should see my lions." 

When Tony Tompkins real- 
ized he had told of his posses- 
sions, he was so frightened that 
he clung to the top of the dog- 
house to keep from falling. A 
moment more and he decided 
to act like a man. Once off 
of the boxes, he thrust his 
hands into his pockets and 
sauntered to the other side of 
the dog-house. 

‘^Say, now," he drawled, 
22 


THE LION TAMER 


‘‘who are you, anyway?'' 

“ Oh, I'm Jimmy," answered 
the little boy. “My mother is 
housekeeper next door." 

“Well," said the other, “I'm 
Tony Tompkins, ‘The Great- 
est Lion Tamer on Earth.'" 

The effect produced upon 
Jimmy was all that could have 
been desired, and Tony soon 
unburdened himself to his ap- 
preciative listener. 

“How many have you 
23 




TONY TOMPKINS 


got?'' questioned Jimmy. 

"About a million, I guess," 
said Tony, nonchalantly. 

"Where do you keep 'em 
when you aint training 'em ? " 

Tony Tompkins reflected a 
moment, and then drew very 
close to Jimmy. 

"See here," he said, "you 
cross your heart, hope to die, 
and I'll tell you all about 'em." 

Jimmy crossed his heart and 
hoped to die. Then the two 

24 


THE LION TAMER 


boys sat down with their 
backs against the dog-house. 
Presently a greyhound came 
out, looked at the Guinea pig 
in a disinterested way, and 
then lay down close to Tony 
Tompkins' outstretched legs, as 
if he, too, yearned to hear 
about lions. 

‘‘See that room with the 
big windows?" asked Tony, 
“well, that's where I tame 


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TONY TOMPKINS 


“And when you ain’t tam- 
ing?” persisted Jimmie. 

“Oh then/' replied Tony, 
without hesitation, “I send 
’em through a tunnel to 
Spain.” 

“My!” gasped Jimmie, and 
the Guinea pig was all for- 
gotten. 

They sat quietly for a 
while, and then he asked, as 
a blush covered his little face, 

“What is Spain?” 

26 


THE LION TAMER 


Tony Tompkins rose and 
walked back and forth for a 
few minutes, much to Jimmie's 
discomfiture. Apparently the 
Lion Tamer was lost in med- 
itation. Suddenly he turned 
and inquired, 

'^Say, how old are you?" 

‘Tive," came the reply. 

‘"Most too little to know, 

I guess," said Tony, and with 

a look of disdain he strode 

down the lawn, followed by 
27 







TONY TOMPKINS 


the faithful old greyhound. 

Jimmie Owens was a very 

little boy even for five years 

of age, but perhaps it was 

because those five years had 

not been of the brighest. 

When a baby he was taught 

to restrain his laughter because 

it annoyed the cross old maid 

for whom his mother kept 

house. It may do very well 

for a society girl to smile 

with her eyes, but when a 
28 


THE LION TAMER 


little chap of five does so it is 
strangely pathetic; and Jimmie 
Owens was most pathetic in 
all things. His made-over 
garments were pathetic, his 
pale little face also, and most 
pathetic of all was his devo- 
tion to the inappreciative little 
Guinea pig. 

The week following his 
meeting with Tony Tompkins 
was rainy and dismal, but 
if he had been an attentive 


29 























TONY TOMPKINS 


listener, so also was he an 
ardent admirer. Next to con- 
versing with the object of his 
admiration was the privilege 
of sitting at his own little 
window and gazing up at 
the room where Tony Tomp- 
kins performed his wonderful 
feats. Once, through the rain, 
he caught a glimpse of the 
red flannel shirt and saw 
Tony Tompkins flourish his 

whip. And 'though the world 
30 


THE LION TAMER 


was cheerless without, Jimmie 
Owens' little heart throbbed 
with a new warmth. He 
was in possession of his first 
secret. A perfectly splendid 
one, and it was about The 
Greatest Lion Tamer on 
Earth. 


When at last the sun 

shone and the little boys met 

again by the dog-house, Tony 

Tompkins told a tale that 

made little quivers run up 
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and down Jimmie's spine. It 
was concerning the way in 
which lion tamers usually die. 

‘‘Yes," remarked Tony, 
‘‘sometimes the lions bite 
their heads off, and some- 
times they chase 'em to death." 

‘‘Oh," said Jimmie, ‘‘and 
aren't you afraid?" 

‘‘Me? — well I guess not," 
answered Tony, “just wouldn't 
I make a fine lion tamer if I 
was?" 

32 


THE LION TAMER 


Whatever else Tony Tomp- 
kins had in his mind to tell 
was left untold, for just then 
somebody, (Jimmie didn't know 
who), came out and told The 
Lion Tamer he was wicked 
to sit on the damp ground 
when he had such a cold. 
Jimmie wondered at this un- 
known person's audacity as 
he sat and watched his hero 
marched into the house in a 

most humiliating fashion. 

33 










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TONY TOMPKINS 


The rest of the morning 

Tony sat by the open fire 

and toasted his slippers. At 

first he rebelled against being 

kept indoors, but as the day 

wore on his head hurt so, and 

he was so unhappy that he 

willingly lay upon the big 

leather lounge. When the tall 

afternoon shadows made the 

comfortable sitting room a 

gloomy place for a little boy 

with only his own unhappy 
34 


THE LION TAMER 


thoughts to keep him com- 
pany, his sister came and read 
to him. Tony Tompkin's li- 
brary consisted of just ten 
books. His sister chose the 
first she happened to find. The 
cover was most inviting, but 
the contents burned into Tony's 
little soul. It was a Sunday 
School book. Often it had 
been read to him, but to-day 
it had a new meaning. It was 

about a little boy who told 
35 














TONY TOMPKINS 


lies. Tony was most uncom- 
fortable as he remembered 
about the tunnel and Spain. 

He wished he had not met 
Jimmie Owens. But when 
night came and he was car- 
ried up to the nursery, his con- 
science became the least of his 
troubles, for there were the 
great gaping mouths, the red 
flannel shirt and the whip. 

The next day, and many 

more, the family physician 
36 


THE LION TAMER 


came, but once when Tony 
looked up to see the old gen- 
tlemen's kindly face, he saw 
instead a young woman. She 
was dressed all in white, had 
merry brown eyes, and wore a 
medal pinned to her collar. 

‘^Fm going to make you 
very comfortable," she said. 

Tony forgot the pain in 
his head. He liked her voice 
and her hair, but best of all 
he did like the medal. He 


37 




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wondered if she won it for 
fighting. Once he tried to 
ask, and to let her know that 
he was once a prize fighter. 
But his throat pained too 
much, so he just lay wonder- 
ing and admiring, until he 
forgot all about the medal and 
learned to love her. 

It was she who rescued him 

when the lions tried to choke 

him. Sometimes he would 

float away to a land of beauti- 
38 


THE LION TAMER 


ful flowers, where everything 
was too wonderful to under- 
stand; but when he least ex- 
pected the lions would rush 
upon him in a wild attempt 
to choke him. Then it was 
she who would raise him in 
her arms, that he might 
breathe more easily, whisper- 
ing meantime soothing words 
— words that he could not un- 
derstand — at such times it was 
a comfort to know he was 


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not left alone in his peril. 

Tony Tompkins and the 
nurse were practically isolated, 
and the family moved quietly 
below stairs, for as the coach- 
man had told Jimmie, when 
that little body found courage 
to ask about his friend, the 
disease was ^‘most catchin'." 

Dreary, dreary days they 
were, and many many times 
the little woman up stairs for- 
got for a moment she was a 

40 


THE LION TAMER 


trained nurse, and sat upon 
the top step, her head in her 
hands, and moaned, 

‘‘Our Lord knows best, but 
he is such a blessed little 
fellow/' 

At last came the final strug- 
gle. An emaciated little hand 
grasped an imaginary whip, 
but all too late. When the 
sunbeams came in to kiss the 
fleur-de-lis they lingered about 

the form of a little boy that 
4( 
















TONY TOMPKINS 


lay quite still in a young 
woman's arms. 


# « # # 

Jimmie Owens saw the 
windows of Tony's room 
thrown open. Instinctively he 
experienced an unknown dread. 
Cautiously he drew near the 
door of the big house. A sad 
faced man came out. It was 
Tony's father. He looked old- 

42 


THE LION TAMER 


er than when Jimmie had last 
seen him, and there was a 
something about him that gave 
the little boy courage to 
approach. 

Gently he touched the man's 
coat. The man seemed startled 
at the sight of the little boy, 
but at length he placed his 
big hand upon his tousled red 
head and said something that 
nobody but Jimmie and the 
stately greyhound heard. A 

43 









TONY TOMPKINS 


moment more and Jimmie was 
back to where the senseless 
Guinea pig lay. Throwing 
himself upon the ground and 
gathering his Guinea pig in 
his arms, he wailed as only a 
boy of five can wail, and what 
the unsympathetic Guinea pig 
heard was: 

‘‘Tony Tompkins, The 
Greatest Lion Tamer on Earth, 
is dead.'' 


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